You know, I never thought it will actually happen. But here it is, comissioned from a third-party developer with who-knows-who from the original crew, on a monthly episode basis.
It could be worse, though: Ragnar Tornquist is still feeding us blurry promises regarding Dreamfall Chapters. Chances are, we'll die in the 2012 apocalypsebefore he even gives a decent hint on the suggested storyline...
Oh well, nothing like coming back home. It's still Carribean, Guybrush finally looks cool, the voices seem to be the same. There's less music, but it's still good. The dialogues are up to the mark, although so far there's nothing as hilarious and catchy as "I.Cheese - Aye!" or "Have you got a reservation?" The puzzles are sort of a bit too logical for Monkey Island.
What really bothers me is the plotline. And particularly two points there. Up until 4th chapter the Guybrush/Morgan pairing seemed quite promising,and that alone was troubling, 'cause, you know, "Elaine, love of my life [link]." Then, in "Trial&Execution" it goes off the rail": Elaine is back and disgusting but suddenly still beloved; Guybrush really overdoes it with "You betrayed me!" thing - in a bad actor way. Well, now the second point is even weirder. In chapter 4 three characters die, and at least two of them - not in a funny/ironical way. I see an unprecedented attempt to introduce real tension to the plotline - but that's completely non-monkey-islandish. Give me one dying character in The Secret, Revenge, The Curse or Escape?
The contrast between general MI carelessness and this sudden twist causes denial instead of a shock. It just doesn't fit in. First, Guybrush finds dying Morgan and goes all maxpaynish, as in "He will pay for this!" Seconds later he's back to his cheerful mischievous self. And when the body's gone, it's just "weird!"
And then he dies. Guybrush Threepwood dies, and it's not just another joke, like in The Curse. And the chapter closes with Elaine and LeChuck at cross-swords, as in some anime, or more like in Angel - Not Fade Away... Well, you get the point. The Monkey Island series, as of that moment, is officially desecrated. Moreover, we have to wait one more month to see their excuse for an explanation, and that waiting will distance the episodes more, so that these inconsistencies, no matter how they are explained later, will solidify in our minds. The time factor here kills the suspense, giving way for criticism. Really unfortunate.